The facility conducts research in: nuclear technology development; reactor safety research; radiation materials studies; solid-state radioactive physics research; electron beam research; monitoring of radiation levels in Kazakhstan, including Semipalatinsk and sites in Western Kazakhstan; nuclear physics applications in the fields of geology, industry, agriculture, and medicine; isotope production for medical and industrial use;[1] and analyses of radioactive cargo seized by Kazakhstani customs.[2] In addition to the reactor, the facility includes hot cells (for work with highly radioactive substances), a cyclotron, and seven laboratories.[3] 

Sources:
[1] "Institut yadernoy fiziki," undated brochure received by CNS in June 2001.
[2] Kenley Butler, NISNP Trip Report, "Almaty, Astana, Alatau," June 2001, KAZ010600, pp. 6-12.
[3] Boris Kuznetsov et al., "Implementation of Material Control and Accounting at the Nuclear Facilities in Kazakhstan," Partnership For Nuclear Security: United States/Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (Washington, DC: Department of Energy, September 1998), pp. 1-2.{Entered 6/25/2001 NA}